Junior dos Santos Discusses UFC 166 Clash with Cain Velasquez

Dos Santos has the upmost respect for Velasquez:

“It’s an honor to be competing at such a high level with this guy. Cain Velasquez right now is the champion, and I think he is the guy that I have to beat in this division. I respect that a lot and that’s why I’m training so hard. I’m spending a lot of time at the gym, and thinking about how I can beat this guy.”

Dos Santos believes there were some positives involved in his lopsided decision loss to Velasquez last December:

“When you fight Cain Velasquez you have to know it’s almost sure that he’s going to try to take you down and you’re going to fight on the ground. Of course I was worried about the takedowns but I took a lot of punches in the face too. And that was a good experience for me because that showed me a lot about him about his style; he’s aggressive, and he pushes the fight, so that was very important.”

How does he see the fight unfolding?

“I think this third fight is going to be completely different from the other fights because now Cain Velasquez knows more about me, I know more about him and I think we are more prepared to fight each other.”

There’s only one way Dos Santos wants to end the fight:

“It’s going to be a good fight for the fans because he’s going to give his best and push the fight like he always does, and well, I’m going to go there to knock him out. If I can’t I’m going to go there to give my best to win.”

Does Dos Santos envision more meetings with Velasquez?

“I don’t think it’s going to be the last one. I think we’re going to fight each other again in the future. Sooner or later we’re going to be fighting again.”

If the third time is truly a charm, fans are in for a real treat tomorrow night when UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez puts his gold up for grabs against former divisional king Junior dos Santos in the main event at UFC 166. The bout is one of the year’s most anticipated match-ups given the talent each possesses and the fact both own past wins over the other. Whether Dos Santos will score another knockout or Velasquez will make it two straight remains to be seen, but there’s no question when it comes to how entertaining the outing should be. Dos Santos recently offered up his thoughts on Velasquez in a conversation captured by UFC.com, shedding a little light on his approach to Velasquez this time around and why he’s certain it won’t be the last time the two talented heavyweights cross paths. (Photos by USA Today Sports Images)